The invention was developed with specific attention paid to its possible use in Mobile Wireless Broadband Access networks conforming to IEEE std 802.16-2004 as amended by IEEE 802.16e-2005 and IEEE 802.16g.
The current reference texts for the standards mentioned in the foregoing are the following:                IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, “IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Part 16: Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems”, IEEE Std 802.16-2004 (Revision of IEEE Std 802.16-2001), 1 Oct. 2004;        IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, “IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Part 16: Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems” Amendment 2: Physical and Medium Access Control Layers for Combined Fixed and Mobile Operation in Licensed Bands and Corrigendum 1, 28 Feb. 2006; and        IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, “Draft IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Part 16: Air Interface for Fixed and Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Systems—Management Plane Procedures and Services”, IEEE P82.16g/D2, 3 Apr. 2006.        
Further exemplary of networks to which the invention may apply are Mobile WiMAX networks, based on the IEEE 802.16 specifications.
The current reference texts for the Mobile WIMAX networks are the following:                WiMAX Forum, “WiMAX End-to-End Network Systems Architecture (Stage 2: Architecture Tenets, Reference Model and Reference Points)”, 1 Mar. 2006, draft;        WiMAX Forum, “WiMAX End-to-End Network Systems Architecture (Stage 3: Detailed Protocols and Procedures)”, 24 Apr. 2006, draft;        
WiMAX Forum specifications, based on IEEE 802.16 specifications, assign to Radio Resource Management (RRM) the tasks of measurement, exchange, and control of radio resource-related indicators (e.g., current subchannel allocations to service flows) in the wireless network. RRM related signaling is realized by means of two functional entities within RRM: the Radio Resource Control (RRC) functional entity and Radio Resource Agent (RRA) functional entity.
As expressly indicated by the WiMAX Stage 2 specification, the control function primarily refers to decisions made by a measuring station or remote entity to adjust (i.e., allocate, reallocate or deallocate) radio resources based on the reported measurements and other information, or by using proprietary algorithms, and communicating such adjustments to network entities using standardized primitives. Such control may be local and remote from the measuring station.
Although the RRM definition provided above does include control functions to manage radio resources, no specific messages are supported at the current specification stage to realize these functions. WiMAX forum architecture specifications define the network elements where Access Service Network (ASN) functions are located. Three possible options are currently supported for Mobile WiMAX System Architecture: ASN Profile A, ASN Profile B, ASN Profile C. When ASN Profile A is adopted RRC function has to be located in the network element named Access Service Network Gateway (ASN-GW). ASN-GW controls a set of 802.16 BS Entities in the ASN. A 802.16 BS Entity represents one sector with one frequency assignment. A set of co-located BS Entities is named BS cluster.
At the present stage no means exist in ASN Profile A to control the assignment of Radio Resources in the 802.16 BS Entity, since no RRM messages are currently defined for this purpose. As a consequence, Co-Channel Interference (CCI), Mobile-to-mobile and BS-to-BS interference within a given Base Station (BS) Cluster and among different BS Clusters cannot be avoided.
Similarly, though the IEEE 802.16g specification, which is the baseline for Mobile WiMAX System Architecture, describes Radio Resource Management primitives between NCMS (Network Control and Management System) and the 802.16 BS Entity, the current version of the system specification, that is IEEE 802.16g/D2 (April 2006), does not contain any primitive to avoid the CCI, BS-to-BS and mobile-to-mobile interference problem.